With so many ads and claims out these days for the new "cutting edge" diet or the "miracle" cure to some disease, how can the average Joe decide what to and what not to believe? From taking psy 1001, I believe that in the future I will most definitely remember how to think scientifically, that is, using the six scientific thinking principles. These include ruling out rival hypotheses, correlation vs. causation, falsifiability, replicability, extraordinary claims, and Occam's razor.
All of these thinking principles can be applied to psychological studies, but also can be used to evaluate any scientific claim. One could use falsifiability to evaluate and outrageous claim from many self-help books when deciding if their facts are true. You could disregard claims about UFO and big foot sightings with the rule of extraordinary claims, needing to have more rigorous evidence for an extreme claim. Many health claims about weight loss tactics or intelligence claims of boosting brainpower by some unorthodox means, you could use replicability to see if there have been any other studies to prove them to be true. Ruling out rival hypothesis and correlation vs. causation to see if there may be another answer or another factor that may contribute to a claim.
Scientific claims may reap the benefits of the average citizens easy belief of such claims, but those who took psy 1001 have the tools and knowledge to evaluate some "phony" claims.
Psychological Fact vs. Fiction
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These principles of thinking can be used in everyday life too! I have learned to use scientific thinking to my advantage as a way to analyse what is legit from what is not in situations I encounter everyday. Especially when it comes to people's actions. I've come to be more open-minded when people appear confrontative or act rudely. There is always a reason behind things and we shouldn't automatically blame ourselves or the person for certain actions.
Good post. These 6 principles of thinking can be used just about anywhere! With all of these bigfoot and ufo shows playing on TV these days, it is important to remember to go back to thinking scientifically. Media these days does a great job brainwashing people into thinking weird things.
I agree with your post because by applying the principles of scientific thinking we will be able to stop ourselves from being duped by advertisers. But on the other hand for people studying advertising they could use their knowledge of the scientific principles to try and fool people by re-wording them and making them seem even more believable to the knowledgeable population!